Two down, two to go

I may regret saying this, but after struggling through the first two classes in Governor State University's online teaching certificate I'm feeling a lot more confident heading into the third course which focuses on design. Not sure where this new found jauntiness is coming from, but having the summer off from taking classes and just getting back from my first two-week vacation in more than 20 years probably helps. In addition, I am now basically working one job instead of two and that really assists the psyche (if not the pocketbook).

But more importantly,I experienced a real turning point during the second class when I had to facilitate a week's lesson. The proverbial light bulb went on as I realized that even though it is online it really is all about teaching. And I already know how to teach! Suddenly instead of fighting the technology I realized it is a tool for teaching, not a brick wall to blast through.

That said, I fully expect to have some moments of panic in the third class. I consider myself warned since our teacher told us up front this is the most demanding course in the program. As if the other two classes were a cake walk! The first hurdle is learning the new Blackboard system. So far so good though, since it actually seems a little easier than the old course management system (Note the progress here, the old Vickie would have been railing against the change).

I'm hoping my experience in developing traditional courses will translate seamlessly to this design course. I recently spent some time putting together a literary journalism course that was canceled due to low enrollment. I plan to use that for my final project. I think it could translate well to the online environment and perhaps that will be the right place to offer the course. The previous two courses made me more conscious of the different learning styles so I've already tried to incorporate them into the course. The biggest challenge will be developing online activites to support the learning. Making that transition will be interesting and I'm looking forward to applying the theories we've learned and my own teaching style to this new technology.

How's that for a new attitude? Now here's hoping I can keep up!